Insanity Defence

Insanity Defence

When a person claims a defence of insanity – they do not ‘get off the charge’.  A big misconception.  There will be many reports requested to look at a person’s mental capacity and there is a high bar set to prove a diagnosed illness or ‘insanity’.

This defence does not ‘get someone off’ a charge, and if insanity is actually found, the person may find themselves confined to an institution for an unknown period of time, which could end up in substantially outweighing any sentence they would receive had they been convicted.

The powers of the court in an insanity defence case are found in the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act 1996

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Charges Discontinued

Charges Discontinued   Charges can be discontinued in the District and Supreme Court by the Director of Public Prosecutions. In the Magistrates Court, charges can be discontinued by the police or dismissed. The former means that the police can recharge you with the same offence; if no evidence is offered, and the charge dismissed, an [...]

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Sentencing

Sentencing

Sentencing People read the press and may disagree with a sentence. The sentence is not light when one considers all the factors in the case. There is SO many factors that come into play when sentencing, that we cannot possibly name them all.  A sentence is not randomly made up for each case.  Each case [...]

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Appeals

Appeals

Appeals Appeals are another area which is misunderstood.  A right to an appeal is not something everyone gets. If someone gets found guilty, they cannot simply decide to appeal that decision.  They must have ‘grounds’ for an Appeal. That means that they must have some actual reason that they were wrongly convicted and be able [...]

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